Apparatus for determining the force of gravity at sea



a v-"mew APPARATUS FOR DETERMINING THE macs OF GRAVITY AT SEA avwentoz HARVEY .C. HAYES e 1 22.1- 19277 QSUBSTTUTE FOR wussmc XR Patented Feb. 10, 1931 HARVEY c. HAYn-s, or" WASHINGTON, ms'riucr or com-mam arrana'ros on bncrnnarmner'nn roncn or GRAVITY Ar sm- Application filed August 16, 1927. Serial No. 213,428.

(GRANTED UNDEB. THE ACT 01 MARCH 3, 1883, AS AMENDED APRIL 30, 1928; 870 O. G. 757) l The invention herein described may be manufactured and used by or for the.Government of the United States for governmental purposes without the payment to me of any royalty thereon or therefor.

A primary object of the present invention is to improve and simplify .the methods now commonly employed for the determination of what is herein termed the gravitational constant, commonly designated by the character (g), and more specifically to provide suitable apparatus for carrying out the novel method at sea. object of the invention has been to devise a suitable gravity pendulum which will not be afie'cted by the rolling and pitching movements of a vessel at sea but whose periodof oscillation will be affected by the value of the gravitational constant, i. e., the force of gravity upon a unit mass at the particular point where the pendulum is located.

It is well known that the variation in the force of gravity from place to place over the e arths surface is dependent to a large extent upon the nature of the earths crust at the particular localities, and especially upon the nature of that portion of the crust which is near the surface. This fact has given rise to a desire to make extensive surveys of various portions of the earthssurface, including the bottoms of the oceans. For this pur pose, use has been made of the well known formula in which (t) represents the period of oscilis invariable as the pendulum is moved from place to place; while (g) is the value of the gravitational constant. On the basis of this formula, it has been customary heretofore to determine the characteristics of a particular gravity pendulum by setting it up at a standard location and to then make accurate determinations of the period. of oscillation of this pendulum as it is shifted from place to lace o\'cr an area to be surveyed. In accor ance To this end, an incidental,

5 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE. '1

with the methods commonly in use, this hasmethod it is impossible to distinguish very slight variations or discontinuities in the earths crust due to difiiculty in obtaining accurate fractional time readings. 1

By the present invention, it is proposed to eliminate the necessity for an accurate chronometer by the employment of two pen- 9 dulumsin proximity to eachother, the one pendulum being of a type which may be termed standard and which is unafi'ected by the variations in the force of gravity, while the second pendulum is of a type dis-- tinctly affected by such variations in the force of gravity.

In connection with the use of a gravity survey as an aid to the-determination of the nature of the earths crust, it is to be noted that the important factor is not the actual value of (g) at thevarious points of the earths surface but merely its variation from place to place over this surface. The present method is, therefore, particularly concerned with the determination of the difierence in the value of the gravitational eonstant as indicated by the difference in the period of oscillation of the gravity-affected pendulum as it is moved from place to place. Of course whenever'it is desired to determine the actual value-of (g) at any point, it may readily be done by first establishing the pendulum at a standard location where the value of (g) is known, and thus determining the inherent characteristics of the particular pendulum.

It has been extremely difficult in the past to obtain any accurate determinations of the value of gravity in connection with points at sea. due to the fact that there have been no suitable pendul'ums available which will be sensitive to the variations in gravitv but which will not be materially atlectcd by the movements of a vessel at sea. The provision of a suitable pendulum for this purpose is therefore a very important feature of the present invention.

Before passing to the description of one suitable form of apparatus which maybe employed in the conduct of the present method, as illustrated in the accompanying drawing, it may be well to'outline briefly the equational relations; by means of which the variations in the gravitational constant may be readily determined.

In the conduct of the present method, it is proposed to set into oscillation two pendulums which have been hereinbefore mentioned, the one of which is all'ected by the force of gravity and the other not. number of oscillations of these pendulums may be determined over a-given period by permitting a definite number of oscillations of the standard pendulum, such as (N and by determining the number of coincidences n the swings of the two pendulums during this period in any suitable way as by the method of eclipses. If (N represents the total number of oscillations of the gravity pendulum during the same period (T) and (n) represents the number of coincidences or eclipses, then (N,= V in). If (t represents the period of 0scillation.of the gravity pendulum, and (t-;) rep-resents the period of oscillation of the standard pendulum, then (T=N,, t,=ZV t Substituting the previously given value of (X and dividing through by this quantity, we have the relation Since the value of (1! remains constant regardless of the location of the instruments, it may be definitely determined once and {or all by counting the number of oscillations over a eriod of time of considerable duration. of oscillations for the value of (N which may be gauged by a definite time interval -through the use of an ordinary watch, all that remains for observation is the value of (n) or the number of eclipses.

Having determined the value of (15,) from the data thus obtained, the value of (g) may readily be determined from the formula first given, viz.

The

y then adopting a standard numberlum. v

With this outline of the general nature of the novel method contemplated by the pres-' entinvention, a more definite understanding may be had from a consideration of the single figure of the accompanying drawing which illustrates diagrammatic-idly one suitable form of apparatus for carrying out the Y method.

In the drawing (1) designates the inertia member of a torsion balance which is suspended by means of 'a torsion. filament (2) from a horiiontal supporting member Suitable bearings are preferably provided at the points (3) and (4) for the purpose of-.

keeping the pendulum in alinement when the support is rocked or in any" way moved, as in the case of it's installation in a vessel at sea. Adjacent this torsion pendulum is a second pendulum comprising an inertia member (5) which is mounted for oscillation in a horizontal plane by means ot a vertical axis (5), the latter being maintained in. proper alinement by suitable bearings (6) and (7).

Two filaments (S) and (9) which are suspended from the horizontal support (2') are connected to the inertia member (5) at opposite ends of-a diameter line of the latter. These filaments are preferably so dimensioned as to have, a low co-e'fiicient of torsion. When angularly displaced about the vertical axis, this pendulum executes rotational oscillations, the period of which is largely dependent upon the force of gravity. This is due to the fact, as will be apparent, that upon turning of the inertia member there will be struction, while materially affected by the force of gravity, will not be detrimentally affected by rocking and rolling movements of the supporting structure, as by the movements of a ship at sea.

A suitable method of determining the co incidences in the oscillations of the two inertia members (1) and (5) may consist inthe provision of a mirror (11) on the pivotal. axis of the torsion pendulum and a mirror (19.) on the axis of the gravity pendulum. These mirrors may be so'located that when the pendulums are at rest, a beam of light from a source (10) will be reflected by the mirror (11) to strike the mirror ('12) from which it will be reflected to a point of observation as at (13). If desired, a light sensitive cell 13a may be placed at the point (13) to control suitable indicating or recording devices 131). It will be understood that the mirrors (11) and (12) are quite small and that a beam of light can follow the course indicated from (10) to (13) only when the two mirrors pass through their points of rest at the same time.

' ta'tional constant at sea, a. torsion 1,792,013: I, Y a ,3

While the foregoing serves to illustrate and I explain one admirable form which the present invention may assume, it will be understood that modifications may be made invariousteatures falling within the scope of the terms of the appended claims. Thus in place of the standard torsion pendulum suggested in the foregoing description there may be provided any oscillatory body whose frequency isentirely independent of the force of gravity and it is not necessary to cause any definite number of oscillations ofthe latter so long as the ratio of its period to that of the gravity affected pendulum is determined.

What I claim is:

1. A combined torsion 'and gravity pendulum comprising an inertia member adapted to oscillate in accordz'mce with its own natural period, a vertical axis upon which said member is mounted and a pair of torsion filaments connected to said member at diametrically opposite points for suspending the latter;

2. In apparatus for determining the gravi-' tational constant, a torsion pendulum, a cone bined torsion and gravity pendulum, and means for indicating the coincidences in the oscillations of said pendulums. I

3. In apparatus for determining the graviendulum including an inertia element, an axis for said element having fixed bearings, a combined torsion and gravity pendulum mounted ad-' jacent' said first mentioned pendulum on an axis having fixed bearings, and means for determining the relative periodsof oscillation of said pendulums. g 4. In apparatus for determining variations in the gravitational constant a support, a torsion pendulum suspended from said support, means for maintaining the same relation be? tween said support and said pendulum during rocking of said support, a gravity pendulum comprising a rotary inertia member mounted in fixed relation with said support, and means for indicating the difference in the frequencies of said pendulums.

5. In apparatus for determining the gravitational constant, a torsion pendulum, agravity pendulum having a rotary inertia memher, a mirror carried by each of said pendulums, and means for directing a beam of light toward one of said mirrors, said beam being reflected to a point of observation by said mirrors jointly'whcn both of said pendulums coincidentally pass definite points in their oscillations. i

6. In apparatus or determining-the gravi- 'tational constant, a torsion pendulum, a rotary gravity pendulum and means for indicating the relative periods of oscillation of said peudulums comprising means for directing and reflecting a beam of light toward said pendulums and thence toward a fixed point" 7 In apparatus for determining the gravitational constant, a torsion pendulum includ ing an inertia element, an axisfor said element having fixed bearings, a comblned torsion and gravity pendulum mounted adpxcent said tirstmentioned pendulum, andm'eans for determining the relative periods of osc1llation of said pendulum.

8. In apparatus for determining the gravitational constant. a pendulum whose period is free from the intluence of gravity, a gravityall'ected pendulum, supporting means for said pendulums, means for preventing disturbance ofsaid pcndulums upon movements of said supporting means, and means for comparing the relative periods of oscillation of said pendulums.

9. A pendulum comprising an inertia disc adapted to oscillate in accordance'with its own natural period in a substantially horizontal plane, a pivotal mounting for said disc, and a pair of torsion filaments connected to said disc at diametrically opposite peripheral points for suspending the latter.

HARVEY C,

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